This Pain
by tomatoqueen
Summary: Everyone looked at her expectantly. She wasn’t sure what to do. She plastered a huge grin on her face she hoped looked genuine. “Great to have you back, Sasuke.”
1. Why I Hate This

**hey its me again, tomatoqueen! hmm yeah most of my stories are random funny stuff but this one is going to be a romance, possibly drama, and im pretty sure some agnst the beginning. some stuff you need to know: **

**1. i changed sakura completely because i dont like her the way she is. srry, saku fans.**

**2.this first chapter is mainly sakura's POV. next chapter will be y'know, present action type things.**

**3. italics are for actual thoughts.**

**4.this is rated teen for swearing and possible violence depending on where i go w/ this**

**5.i own naruto. it is mine.**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**i was kidding about above comment. don't sue. please**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**-flashback**-

Everyone looked at her expectantly. She wasn't sure what to do. She plastered a huge grin on her face she hoped looked genuine. "Great to have you back, Sasuke."

**-end flashback-**

But it wasn't great. It wasn't great at all. Having him gone was so painful she had become numb, and part of her hadn't wanted him back, because it would mean fresh pain and more complicated emotions she didn't feel like dealing with because...well, because.

Her friends noticed her behavior and asked her about it but she always beat around the bush with her vague answers. She didn't like to explain herself and she would much rather avoid the problem anyways.

Speaking of which, despite her friendly act the other day she had kept her distance from Sasuke. When she had to be around him she was always guarded and untrusting. She never was a trusting person and being betrayed by him when she had trusted only made it worse.

On top of that, she wasn't sure he had come back for good. He could always betray the village again for some fucking quest for power. And it irked her how he could betray the whole damn village then waltz right back in and everybody practically rolled out the welcome mat with open arms.

Seriously. He had practically eloped with Orochimaru the snake bastard, Konoha enemy number 1, and his only punishment was he always had to be under the watchful eye of one of his former two teammates.

Normally this went to Naruto because he was Sasuke's best friend and can handle him better than anyone else. Sometimes Naruto had asked her to do it but she always made excuses about being busy with the ANBU. None of which were true.

Currently she was running through Konoha, her favorite way of exhausting her emotions so that she wouldn't have to deal with them. It was good exercise and she loved running anyway. She was the fastest ninja in Konoha, even faster than Sasuke, and she felt pretty smug about it.

She was running past Ichiraku when she heard someone call out to her.

"Sakura-chan!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**so did u like? the next chapter will be more action and less view, promise. if u have any suggestions or u want to tell me what kind of dog you have or why you hate that bitch in gym, give me a review or private message. ps ill probably post the next chapter 2nite, fri. night, or some time next week. i WILL get better at posting because i REFUSE to be outdone by a friend of mine. ok ill get off my soapbox now.**


	2. This Is Shit

**hola! im srry i didn't update like i said i would, i was trying to make it longer. plus, i had to rewrite what i alredy wrote. long story. **

**Things You Should Know:**

**1) my friend kingdom's princess and i are pitting this story and hers, narita** **in a fanficion story showdown please vote for your favorite. you can reach her profile from my favorite authors.**

**2) i no own, you better no sue or else**

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She didn't have to look to see who it was. She would know the blonde idiot's voice anywhere. At first she was going to ignore him and keep going but her body seemed to move on it's own accord, and she turned to him.

"Hey Naruto," She smiled.

"Sakura-chan come eat with us!"

_Us? _Then she noticed Sasuke eating beef ramen next to the kyuubi boy. She didn't want to eat with him, obviously. She racked her brain for an excuse not to.

"You said you were free today, so it shouldn't be a problem right?" Naruto urged.

Crap. Trapped like a rat.

SAKURA POV

I clenched my fists and grudgingly walked to the ramen stand. Sitting on Naruto's right side I ordered my favorite pork ramen. Doing so, I snuck a glance at the raven-haired man on Naruto's left.

_Hey you have to admit he's pretty h–_.I didn't even let myself finish that thought. Mentally, I kicked it to the back of my mind. Then I stomped on it. Finally I threw it into oblivion. Dead.

Other than that lunch was uneventful.

At least it should have been.

Naruto asked me questions about my ANBU missions and I answered what little I could, ANBU missions being confidential. However, I found myself sneaking looks at the youngest Uchiha.

Unfortunately, Naruto noticed this.

"Sakura-chan, why are you oogling Sasuke-teme like a young school girl with a crush?" He asked loudly.

At this, Sasuke's head snapped up and he gave me an odd look. I, in turn, gave Naruto a cold glare that Itachi could have been jealous of. Naruto just sat there and wondered if it was something he said, the **idiot**.

END POV

And here is where our dear Shino decides to make his appearance at the awkward scene.**(a/n: why Shino? Because he rox! XD)**

"Sasuke. Sakura. Hokage-sama wants to see the two of you."

And he disappeared.

0o0o0o0

The walk to the Hokage Tower seemed to take forever. An uncomfortable silence settled on the pair.

Sakura had to consciously keep herself from looking at him as she walked stiffly at his side. Even though she tried to deem relaxed, she was no fool and knew she wasn't pulling it off. Luckily Sasuke made no comment about it, but she supposed the bastard didn't even notice.

Inside the Hokage Tower the pair's footsteps created an echo in the silence around them. Invisible strands of hair began to poke out of place on her head from the atmosphere and nerves but she refused to make a move to break the ice.

Entering her shishou's office, Sakura was mildly surprised to see not a single bottle of sake, but she would bet it was Shizune's influence.

"I have a mission for the two of you."

Sakura could feel her mood get ten shades darker.

"I need you tho go to Water country and retrieve a scroll in the possession of a nobleman named Kazune there. This mission is D-ranked and will take three days. It is mainly for Sasuke but I'm sending Sakura also. Now, Sasuke, give Sakura and myself some privacy."

The said man exited the room.

SAKURA POV

Tsunade closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She opened her honey brown eyes.

"Sakura, I realize you aren't thrilled about the mission..."

_Damn straight._

"...especially since you will be needed to pose as a geisha in order ro complete it."

"NANI!!!" I heard myself yell. Hell, if a guy even _glanced_ at me the wrong way they wound up in the hospital!

"I obviously assigned you to this mission to keep an eye on Sasuke's behavior. I also want you to go to seduce Kazune."

"I won't do it." I declared.

She looked at me sternly. "You will. You are beautiful, strong, and, more importantly, single. You are the only girl in the village like that. Plus, you're also one of the only three people who can stand being around him for extended periods of time."

"The other two are...?" I wanted to know.

"Naruto and Kakashi. But I don't think they'd make good geishas, you?"

Sigh. "No." _They'd probably try to 'get with' the other geishas. THAT would take some explaining. Plus they couldn't even pretend be feminine to save their life, unless you call the Sexy no Jutsu feminine._

"So you see why I picked you?" Was it just me or was that a glimmer of apology just now?

"Yes, shishou." I said reluctantly. I hated the situation, even if it couldn't be helped. I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room.

I headed back to my house to pack for the mission. On the way I ran into Sasuke himself. I glared at him for a moment without offering an explanation.

_It's all your fault I'm in this shit._

And I stormed off again, leaving him with a slightly confused expression.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**ok thats all folks. don't forget to review and vote on your favrite story in the showdown. see ya'll soon.**


	3. I Think Mayhem Loves Me

The petal haired kunoichi angrily tossed various items onto her bed. Her travel pack, a change of clothes, bandages, etc. In the midst of the mayhem her roommate/best friend Kikiyo (Kiki for short) Ranasura walked in and was hit on the forehead by a flying hairbrush.

"Hey!" she objected to this strange and unusually cruel greeting.

"Sorry Kiki. I didn't know you were there." she apologized.

Kikiyo was a short girl with short black hair with dark purple streaks, brown eyes and an attitude problem. She wasn't great at tai jutsu and wound up a medical specialist as she was the right type. She had gone ahead to teach Sakura basic first aid since Sakura was always getting into scrapes.

"So what's up with trashing your room, anyway?"

"I have to leave on a three day mission" Sakura said while stuffing a bar of soap into her pack.

"Oh"

"It's a D-rank mission with Sasuke." She tied up her pack and hefted it onto her shoulder.

"Joy." Kiki said, sarcastically sympathetic.

"I have to pose as a geisha and seduce a nobleman"

"...I feel sorry for you." Sakura could tell her friend meant it from the heart.

"Thanks" She was truly grateful for her friend's sympathy as she checked and made sure all her kunai and other weapons were where they needed to be and easily reachable. She has gotten into the habit of having at least ten blades on her at any time, not including the kunai holster. In her hair, in her mouth, in her shoes, up her skirt, down her shirt, she had developed an addiction to blades.

Needless to say her stalkers were a little better at keeping their distance.

She offered her friend a weary grin and said goodbye before leaving to meet Sasuke for the unwanted mission.

oOoOo

Travel the rest of that day was quiet, but not uncomfortably so like before. It was more companionable, except that the only way this temporary truce was achieved was through ignoring the other as much as possible.

But good things never last, as doom did descend upon them at the campsite Sakura had chosen that night.

oOoOo

_Sakura POV_

_Shit,_ I thought _shit shitty shit shit shit_._ I can't believe I left it! What am I supposed to do, sleep on the ground?! I'll freeze, it's nearly November!..._

Just then Sasuke walked up with the fish I had sent him to catch. He looked for a moment at the nonexistent fire I was supposed to have built.

"I can't cook if there's no fire." He stated the obvious.

"I'm sorry your royal highness. I'll fix it right away." I snapped in mock-sweet tones. Forgetting my bedroll had not made me more kindly disposed toward chicken-hairdo-dude over there.

Irritated, I stomped over to the campfire, piled in wood and dead leaves, and grabbed the flint that had been lying next to the mess.

I probably sat there for five minutes trying to light that fire, but I was angry and preoccupied so I didn't do as well as I would have other wise.

Sasuke let out his breath in a way that was almost a sigh. "Give it here. I'll do it."

For whatever reason this annoyed me more and I chucked the flint at his stupid perfect forehead.

He caught it. Of course he did. Damn bastard. Couldn't even let it hit him.

Then–the NERVE of him– he struck the pile alight on the first try. _I bet he's proud of himself._ Just thinking that tempted me to march over there, take the flint, and shove it down his throat.

It was about this time that I realized I was becoming unreasonably violent. To calm myself, I decided to go down to the river and wash my face.

Coming back into camp I was a lot calmer than I was before.(translation: I was a lot safer than before.) Dinner was also quiet, mostly because my mind was elsewhere and I didn't feel like talking (Sasuke never feels like talking).

When the fish was cleaned up, Sasuke climbed into his own bedroll while I stood there awkwardly.

He raised his eyebrows slightly at me.

"None of your business." I said coldly. He shrugged and got comfortable. A few minutes passed and then...

"I forgot my bedroll."

End POV

oOoOo

Another awkward moment of silence. This pair seems to have a lot of those. Then, something happened that if Sakura hadn't been Sakura, she would have fallen over dead, then & there.

Sasuke made room for her in his bedroll.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked in the most normal voice she could manage.

"It's late fall. I wont let my first mission outside the village fail because I allowed my teammate to freeze to death."

Sakura stood still except for the occasional twitch, thinking it over. Finally she relented and grudgingly walked towards him. When she crawled in she curled into the tiniest ball possible and glared at nothing in particular, ignoring her heart, which was beating so hard it was almost painful.


	4. Inner Demons

im sorry about the long update, but i was busy with exams and whatnot.

* * *

The odd, attractive pair walked through the gates of Sagakure at three that afternoon. One could notice that although they were beautiful, the pink haired girl had an angry-at-the-world look upon her face and the raven haired man had a glorious black-and-purple bruise upon his right cheek.

They'd had a rather awkward morning that day.

**Flashback**

_Sakura awoke to find their bodies entangled. Their legs were intertwined and Sasuke's torso was halfway on top of hers. She might have blushed at their position, but..._

_...But DAMN she had to PEE._

_Not wanting to wake him, she tried_ _to wriggle out of the bedroll without disturbing him. This proved to be an impossible task and after five minutes of getting nowhere, she tried plan B_.

"_Sasuke_"

"_**Sasuke"**_

"_**Sasuke!!!**__**"**_

_But onward Sasuke slept, oblivious to his bedmate's angry whispers (and now colorful language)_

_Now Sakura was desperate, and she resorted to plan C. Steeling herself, she pulled back as much as she could and punched him in the face - HARD (hence the wonderful bruise)._

_After that she sprinted as fast as she could to the nearest private bush and took an extra-long pee._

**End Flashback**

"So what now that were here?" Sasuke asked his companion.

"Go and find us a place to stay...mutter mumble ..and I'll go find a brothel" even uttering those last words flared out a murderous intent so fierce people stared, and even Sasuke sorta-kinda _edged _away from it.

And thus they split, each going to face their worst nightmare. (A/N : DUN DUN DUN!)

**Sakura's POV**

'_**Why the hell does it have to be this mission?!' **_I thought angrily to myself. _**'As if all my body can do is provide pleasure for some greedy, greasy, fat man!!!' **_And then I consoled myself_**'Once this mission is complete I'll show them what I can really do! I'll catastrate them all,**__**and**__**then I'll bake their heads in a pie, and let neighborhood strays eat their intestines!**_**' **By the time I reached the right brothel, I had conjured 46 ways to satisfyingly kill any man who dared to so much as glance at me in the wrong way.

The "Uber Lovers" brothel looked, well, just like every other brothel I'd seen. Putting aside my ideas of righteous justice, I took care to straighten my posture and clothes, before smoothing my expression and putting on an expressionless "mask".

I walked up to the traditional sliding door and knocked.

**Sasuke's POV**

The first hotel was certainly NOT where we were going to stay. Stepping inside, I heard strange sounds coming from all sides. Creaking, rustling, moaning, etc. I asked the host how old it was, but he said new. Catching what sparked my enquiry, the old man grinned and informed me that was the noise of the customers "getting happy". I was out the door pretty quickly.

The second hotel, a little ways down the street from the first one, wouldn't do either. I stepped in and was suddenly surrounded by newly-made-fangirls. I stepped out and hid myself among the crowd.

The next couple inns didn't fit my standards of "a place to stay" either. My hope was dwindling and by the time I reached the last hotel, I was desperate. I decided this would have to be the place. I wasn't going to share a bedroll with Sakura if she was going to punch me in the face first thing in the morning.

However, I didn't expect to see an old acquaintance inside.

She spotted me before I could "disappear".

"Sasuke!"

It was Karin.

* * *

thought i'd throw in that last part to connect to the recent arc.

now review, please.


	5. Itcha Itcha Escape Artists

**tomatoqueen stikes again! woot woot! oh, btw, i wont be doing anything this week so you'll probably see about 2 more chapters this week... **

**things you should know:**

**1.i love to torture these characters. : )**

**2. italics is for thoughts**

**3. as always, i own naruto**

**4.as always, i lied about number 3**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

This Pain

Chapter 5

Sasuke POV

_What to do? If I say hello she'll be all over me quicker than I can say "predator". So…the only thing to do is to…_

"Do I know you?" I asked the redhead coldly.

"Sasuke! It's me, Karin! How could you forget?"

That was the problem, I couldn't forget, not with the way she tried to 'ravage me like crazy' every damn night. But a guy could dream, right?

"I don't know any Karins. Get off of me." I growled at Karin, who was now clutching my arm the way a child might clutch a long-lost teddy bear.

For a moment, her face was a picture of hurt, but she quickly covered it and released me.

"Fine. If that's how it is." And she turned to leave, but not before I caught a gleam in her eyes.

_Hn. I guess I'm not rid of that problem yet._

Sakura POV

A busty woman in a short kimono and way too much makeup answered the door to the Uber Lovers brothel. She gave me an apprehensive look and asked me what kind of 'service' I would like today. My stoic mask only barely concealed my insane twitching.

"Aah…no, I'm here for work." I forced myself to say. The attendant was clearly relieved.

"Follow me."

As we walked through the building I asked her, "When I showed up you thought I was here for the… services. Does that mean you 'serve' women too?"

She cast me a glance. "Only sometimes. Our motto is to serve **every **customer with the **best** we have to offer."

With that we arrived at a great screen door, which the attendant opened for me. In the room sat a great lady. Elegant, but old, and you could see how she tried to cover her age with face paint.

"Rina tells me you're here for work."

"Hai."

The regal woman gave me an indifferent once-over. "You'll do. Come back tomorrow at four to begin."

As I turned to leave she stopped me. "Also. No boyfriends are allowed here."

End POV 

Sasuke gave the room a glance-over, and relented there wasn't anything left to do. He already unpacked the bags and straightened things here and there. He flopped onto his bed._ What now? I have to wait until Sakura gets back…_ He pulled out an Itcha Itcha book that fell out of his bag as he was unpacking. He studied the cover. Probably Kakashi or Naruto slipped it in his bag as a joke. _Couldn't hurt…_ Just as he was about to crack it open, it hit him. She had no idea which hotel to stay in, and neither of them thought to meet up at a place and time.

Giving a small huff, he figured he'd better go look for her.

Sakura, after leaving Uber Lovers, had reached the same conclusion. _Dammit. I feel like a babysitter_, she thought, checking in every building she passed for signs of Sasuke.

-But of course, kami-sama hates Sakura too much to make it easy-

Once she walked into a bar. The drunken men leered at her and pulled her in, promising her a "good time". She got out of that one by punching the men's lights out and running away before the bar's owner caught her.

Then, as she approached a clothing store, she was practically kidnapped by the sales associate and forced into wearing revealing clothes and high heels. She escaped yet again by using a replacement jutsu on a potted plant located out side the store as the associate went to get more 'fashionable clothes'.

A few more mishaps followed these, and by the time Sakura reached the Town Square she had earned the title "escape artist" about ten times over.

And this is dear reader, how Sasuke found her, as he reached the town square.

Panting and sweating lightly, dressed in a form fitting dress that only barely reached mid thigh, had a plunging neckline and a strapped back, with high-heeled boots.

Poor Sasuke. He could only stare as the forgotten Itcha Itcha book sprang to mind. Funny how that works.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**ok, r&r! if i get a good number of reviews i'll try EXTRA-hard to dish out those chapters!**


	6. Sluts Must Die

**yo. tomatoqueen here. im sorry i havent updated, but i had some serious writers block. ill give you the DL of whats up at the bottom of the chappie, make sure you read it. enjoy.**

* * *

Sakura POV

* * *

I scowled at his dumbstruck face. "What are you looking at?" I snarled. He merely raised an eyebrow at me in that infuriating calm, superior-than-thou way. In spite of my rage I felt foolish for not being capable of controlling my feelings like he could.

I hated him all the more for making me feel that way.

Composing my face, I brushed past him, grumbling "Lets go find something to eat."

I _swear_ I heard him chuckle softly, but, still feeling foolish, I managed not to whirl around and slap him. But it took some serious effort.

* * *

End POV

* * *

Their dinner was pretty uneventful, which is shocking all in itself. Sakura calmed down enough to be quiet because of sheer exhaustion.

Good thing, too. Else that _simpering_ wench that kept unabashedly flirting with Sasuke would be out cold on the floor. Humph. She was an embarrassment to her gender.

As is, she was ignored by the duo.

Sakura idly wondered if this was going to become a routine, these quiet evenings with Sasuke. Reflecting on it for a moment more, she was revolted with herself for even entertaining the thought.

Sasuke watched, somewhat amused, as his companions head nearly crashed into her soup several times and random expressions flitted across her face. As an angry one fell into place, he wondered what it was that she thought about.

* * *

More Sakura POV

* * *

I don't know how I dragged myself from the restaurant and back to our hotel, but I did. As we entered the room, I noticed there was only one bed. Damn.

Then I noticed the all-too-familiar little orange book _on_ the bed.

I will swear ever after that it was a freak muscle spasm that made me cross the barren floor and throw Itcha Itcha at his face.

I managed to say, "Sleep on the floor." before I passed out.

* * *

xXxXx

Sakura POV

* * *

At four the next day, I found myself being poked, prodded, pinched, squeezed, painted, and bullied into the picture-perfect vision of a modern geisha (cough prostitute cough).

'_Heaven help me.'_ I pleaded in my head, even tough I have little faith in the gods —they seldom offer help.

"There. You're done." Th plump attendant – _' No. "The pleasantly plump attendant." No offense, Couji.'_—informed me as I stifled a small grin.

I checked my appearance. I looked like the skank-queen of all skanks.

"Thank you." I told my companion. "Could I have a moment alone?"

As soon as the _pleasantly plump_ attendant was out of sight, I shed the slutty kimono-like garment for another slutty kimono-like garment. But the new one fit better, or rather covered a little more than just from my nipples to my thighs. It wasn't as modest as I would like, but it was close enough.

Next to go was the makeup. It simply had to be redone; it was thick and gaudy. I had to work quickly.

'_What's the point of the attendant if I'm just going to re-do what she did anyway?'_

When I finished I looked like an only slightly skanky geisha. Much better. Much, much better.

I called for the assistant. She gave me a disapproving once-over but thankfully said nothing and escorted me to a pseudo-elegant, tough bare, room. It was filled with my temporary co-workers.

The next half-hour found me bored out of my mind, kneeling on that floor. The women with me whispered in private conversations I was excluded from. Which suited me. I wasn't one for small talk.

'_I wonder what Sasuke is doing.'_

Every once in a while I would be called out as part of a small group to go entertain at this or that gathering. This continued for a while.

But I never received any information useful to my mission. All in all? I was devastatingly bored. To occupy my time I fantasized about the different ways I could inflict pain on any man that made an advance on me.

'First, I would ram that table into his knees, then I would shove that small disk down his throat and watch his neck swell where it went down…'

So my first day passed, then the second, then the third.

Finally on the fourth day he showed up, all indifference and dangerous demeanor. I hate him.

* * *

**nd there you go, chapter six. i really am having problems with the plot, if youve got any suggestions i strongly suggest you cough them up XD.**

**and i know sasuke hasnt said much yet, but dont worry. right now hes still in angsty-ex-nin mode. but he'll get better, promise. .**

**also, i had sudden inspiration for some other stories. i have good feelings about them, so stay tuned in, k?**


End file.
